Valve-gear control



Nov. 5,1929. H. -J.CLAXTON VALVE GEAR CONTROL Filed June 25, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet ATTO R N EY v INVENTOR ATTOR N EY Nov} 5, 1929. H. J. CLAXTON' VALVE GEAR CONTROL Filed June. 25, 1927 i 2 Sheets-Sheet mww Mb Patented Nov. 5, 1929 nowann J'. oLAXT'oN, or cri onco, rnmivorsp VALVE-GEAR common I Application filed June 25,

This invention relates to certain novel im-, provements in valve gear controls.

It has'been found in the railroad art that the valve gear of alocomotive tends to creep after having once been set and thus the'speed of a, locomotive varies. ,It istherefore the salient object of my invention to'provide a device which will prevent creeping of the valve gear of a-locomotive. I 1 A further object of the invention is to provide a-cons'truction adapted to be used on-the valve gear of a locomotive so as .to afford expeditious movement thereof;

A still further object of the invention is to provide sucha device which will be simplein construction and operation and economical to manufacture. I

Other objects will appear hereinafter. The invention consists in the novel'combi- '0 nation and arrangement ofpartstobe hereinafter described and claimed; J The invention will be best understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, showing the preferred form-of construction and in which: I a V Y Fig. 1 is'a side elevational view of a locomotive embodying apreferred form of my invention; r

Fig. 2isan enlar'gedwdetail view of lever connections employed in my device; and j Fig.3 is alongitudinal sectional view of a portion of the apparatus.

Referring to the draw ngs wherein the preferred embodiment of my invention is illus-;

caused'to reciprocate in-the usual cylinders 13. As iswell understood in theart; aLSlllt:

able valve gear is provided-for directing the V steam into the cylinders andinasmuch as the specific-form of valve gearforms nopart of tr'ated; it'may beseen thatlfshow a locomo- I tive embodying drive wheels 11 and 12' which-are actuatedby theusualcross-head. construction "that is operated: lay-"pistons larly adapted'to-b disposed beta-sent e usual 1927. Serial No. 201,510.

control lever and the usual bell crank 14. Inplace ofthe link whichordinarily connects the lever 15 to the bell crank 14, I provide a gearinla manner similar to the-usual link which 'ordinarily' connects the bell crank 14 to thecontrol lever 15.' It is to be understood that as the'position of the lever 15 is varied, the speed of operation and the direction of operation of the locomotive may be controlled either in devices ofthe prior art or in-the present device; Mounted on theside of the locomotive in juxtaposition to the cross-head 19 is a cylinder 21" embodying a portion 22 which is of less crossesec-tional area than the portion 23 there- 1 of; Mounted for reciprocation along the rod 26*is'sui tably secured. The connecting rod26 protrudes through an opening in the .86 i

cylinder head 27. Disposed around the connecting rod 26 at saidopening is a suitable packing gland'28. The connecting rod 26' is adapted to be-attached to the cross-head 1 9' for a purpose to'be' brought forthh'ereinaften 7 -On the" end'of the piston 24 opposite the head" -25an enlarged portion 29 is provided that is adaptedto ride in the walls of'the 7 portion '23 of theqcylinder 21 Mounted f within the cylinder 21 at the end opposite-the head 2715a 'slee've-30-which has afla-ngefil thereon that is adapted togbe securedto the' cylinder2l by suitable means such as the bolts i 32.} They sleeve 30 is adapted to-protrudeinto the interior of the piston 24 in such a waythatsaidpiston shall bewslidable thereon'.

Thev innerend of the sleeve- 30 embodies a head 33 having'a'reces's 34 therein-into which the nut35 is adapted to fit when the piston f 24'i'smoved so as to: be adjacent to the head 3319f the sleeve 30. fi'lhe 'n11t135: is adapted to engage suitable screw threads on the innerend of the connecting rod 26 in order to secure saidrod to the piston 24. Piston rings 7 such as 36 are provided on the piston 24 'adj acent to the head 25 thereof; Piston rings 37 a are provided in the portion 29 of the said episton. Piston rings 38 rare'yprov1ded on the sleeve 30 adjacent to thejhead 33 thereof, the

to hold said lever l in any desired position.

utility of the piston rings36, 37 and.3 8 being.

well understood in theart;

By referring to Fig. 2', it maybe seen that the control lever ,15 is pivotally mountediat 39- and a segment-4O is provided adjacent said lever; said segment ihaving inotchesf4 l' formed therein that are adapted to be engaged by the retaining pawl42 adapted to be operated by the suitable latch "structure generally indicated at 43. It is apparent that the lever may be rocked about its pivot point 39 and that the retaining pawl 42 maybe caused to engage the' notches 41 so as The positionindica-ted in Fig; 2 is a'neutra-l position. The movement of said lever inone direction "will cause the locomotive to move I 7 forward and movement of thesaid leverin the opposite direction'w-ill cause said locomo- Ltiveto m ove rearward'. 5 Provided adjacent to the cylinder 21'1is a lever 44 that is pivot-allymounted as at 45. A link 46is piv-otally secured to-thellower'. end of the lever 15 and toy the upperendof the lever.. 44-. A-lever 47 is provided and a, link 48" is *pivotally attached r. tothelower-end Of theIeVer-47.

V ivalve housingi53ris provided and the valve? V so rod'50' protrudes'throug'h anop'ening54pro" ingi Mounted ontbeuppersidebf theicy'lin-' derj2l,w=ithin; the valve-housing 53 is a b1ock3- V 55; havingxa plurality of ports therein, the

V utility of be presently described} As the lever 15 ism oved after Withdrawing V V theret'aining pawl 42*fromfon'e ofthe notches 415 the movement thereofiis transmitted toit'he lever 44 e by the link, .46 and said lever 44 is i caused to'rock about'its pivotpoint 45j-de-f pendent uponzthe direction oi;the movement will beheld-in a fixed position-in a;manner to f bedescribed,"the-lever'47will rockaboutethe' pivotalj connection fbetween Y'saiddeven-and the' linkf52 and thus thejrvalve rod will be moved for a; purpose. to: :be bro gh iorth hereinafter. a

vided in one of the-wallsof saidvalve-hous- Mounted for sliding movement on the block" is'a slide valve 56. Leaf springs 57 are provided on the upper side thereof that is v adapted to engagethe inner'surface of'the' the block 55. 'The'valve, rod; 50 issecuredto 1 the slide valve 56inorder that said slidevalve .shall be movedfthereby. 'Suitable'ports are providedtin the slide valve 56, which are adapted to interconnect the ports-withthe' block 55 in amann'er to be described hereinafter. a I As stated, the valve rod 50 is adaptedto move the slide valve 56 and further, as has been stated, said slide'valve embodies a plunecessar-y to'move the bell crank 14 in order to alter the usualvalve gear; Thisisdone by actuating piston 24 which in turn moves the cross-head 19 and movement'ofthe crosshead 19 is transmitted to the bell crankf14 by" the link 1'6. Movement of the piston '24 we is accomplished in the; following manner;

1 rality of portswhich areadapted to interconnect the-ports in the block 55; Further; when the control lever is moved,1it is of course An opening 58 is provided in thelwalls-of the cylinder 21 adjacent the head 27 thereof and a conduit 58 extends through theopening '58" .so as to bein communication with thep'ortion A ofthe cylinder- 21. 'The con-e duit 58 terminates in a port 59 in the block 55. A port' 6O' is provided in- Ithe slide :valve 56 and isadapted to 'regis'ter-withthe port 59 i 19.0

when theivalve rod 50 moves .said'slide valve 56;; A conduit'61 adapted. to be in com--, munication with the interior" of the valve housing '53 and saideonduit 61 is also 6011.- Y A theport 60" registers with the: port 59; air-will nected to "the'usual compressed air system .proe vided on .the locomotive; Therefore'when flow" froni'nthelairisystemthrough the con duit 61ftotheinterior of the valve housing the time 7 the port 60. registerswith "the. port t 59;,- thejrporlti62 will' register with the port 63 provided in thefblock 55. "Ihe, conduit 64-.

connects theportionB of the cylinder 21 with,

block 55 whichis adapted-to be in communi cation with" the 7 atmosphere. and therefore tjhe port-1363; "lAfip ort 165-is 'provided' in -the whenja'iris forced into the:-portion A; of the cylinder 21,1the, air an ":theportion Bgwill' travel through ft'he conduit -64Ian'd" p1ort '63,, g k r. port 62:andthenoeputthroughport 65,and, 2011, the; ,upper 'side ofthe cylinder- '21, a 7

thus relieve pressure in back otthepiston24;

so that the pressure in front ofsaid -pis'tona 7, A 7

will be able to 'move said zpiston toward the head'33o-f' thefsleeve 80.71 i

e: Asstatedgaliquid-"seal is-provided l of the cylinder21 is adapted to be filled with a suitable liquid such as oil and a conduit 66 which extends through the head 33 of the .sleeve 30 is adapted to be in communication 21. It is apparent that the portions 0 and D in the cylinder 21 are disposed on opposite sides of the piston 24. A suitably formed port 70 is provided in the slide valve 56 which is adapted to inter-connect the ports 67 and 68 when the ports 59 and 60 are brought into register and therefore as the piston 24 is moved, oil will be transferred from the portion 0 through the conduit 66, port 67, port 70, port 68, and conduit 69 to the P01? tion'D of said cylinder.

' It is apparent that as soon as the valve rod is moved in the manner heretofore described, if said valve rod moves rearwardly the port 59 registers with the port and air will be forced into the portion A of the.

cylinder 21 which will move the piston24. As the'piston 24; moves, the air in the portion B will escape in the heretofore described manner through the port and the liquid as v 'in the heretofore described manner.

in the portions C and D will interchange in the manner described. As the piston 24 moves, the movement thereof is transmitted to the connecting rod 26 to the cross-head 1.9.

As said cross-head moves, the movement thereof will .be transmitted to the valve gear Move ment'of the cross-head 19 will also be transmitted to the lever 47 through the lever 52 and inasmuch as the link 48 will be fixedly held atthis time, the lever 47 will rock about the pivotal connection 49 between said link and said lever and thus the valve rod 50 will be moved to the position illustrated in Fig; 3, which will close communication be- .tween the various ports and thus the move-'- ment of thepiston24 will be interrupted and said pistonwill be fixedly held in position,

inasmuch as there is an equal fluidpressure 1 you both sides thereof. 7 I

, duit 6l will flow through theconduit 64 into 7 the portion B of the cylinder 21 which will vmove'the piston 24 away from the head 33 of the sleeve '30. At this same time, theport 62 will register with the port 59 and will permit theair in the portion A of the cylinder 21 to flow through the conduit 58, port 59, port 62, and out through the port-65 so as to be discharged. It is apparent that the port 7 0' is arranged so it will inter-connect pended claims.

ports 67 and 68 regardless of which direction the slide valve 56 is moved. The portionsA' and B of the cylinder 21 have suitableldrain-cocks 71 provided therein in order that water and other foreign mattercarried into these portionsby the'air may be discharged therefrom. A drain cock such as 72 is provided in the portion D in order that oil may be drained-from the system. Suitable filling plugsmaybe associated with the chambers G and D whereby the oilsupply may be introduced or replenished. f

It is apparent from the foregoing, that I have provided an; arrangement whereby the valve gear of the locomotive may be expeditiously movedand one in which said valve gear will be fixedly held in position after it has been moved to a predetermined point.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred form of construction for carrying my invention into effect, this is capable of variation and modification, without departing from the spirit of the invention. I, therefore, do not'wish to be limited'to the precise details ofconstruction set forth, but desire to avail'my'self of such variations and modifications ascomewithin the scope of the ap- 'Having thus described my invention'what I claim as new and desire to protect'by Letters Patent is 1 n 1. Ina device of the class described, a substantially tubular member including an enlarged portion at one end'thereof whereby an enlarged bore and a smaller bore are defined therein'and havingashoulder at the juncture of saidjbores, a cylindrical member mounted in said enlarged boreand having the closed inner end thereofd-isposed in align-. ment with said shoulder, a piston having a skirt portion'disposed over saidcylindrical 7 member andex'tendedinto said smaller bore, I

a head adapted to close the outer end of said fined insaid smaller bore between said head smaller bore whereby a chamber will be deand the inner end of said, piston, said piston providing a second. chamber interiorly I thereof infront of the closed end of said cylindrical member, said cylindrical lmember having a foot portion closing the outer end of'said enlarged bore, said piston skirt having a foot portion adapted to define a chamber between said shoulder and said foot portion and adapted to define another chamber between the footportion of said cylindrical member and said foot'portion on said Shirt,

means for interconnecting the second named chamber and the third named chamber, means for interconnecting the first named chamber and the fourth named chamber, and valve means. disposed in said connecting means .adapted tobe arranged such that'communication between said chambers through said connecting meansmay be controlled. 7 2. In a device of the class described, a."

fio

substantially tubular memher including an enlarged portion at. one'end thereof whereby an enlarged bore and a smallerbore are de fined therein and having ashoulder rat-ithef juncture ofsaid'bores, a cylindrical member;

mounted in said enlarged bore andhaving the closed inner end thereof disposed inalignment with said shoulder, apiston' havinga skirt portion. disposed over'said cylindrical, v member'andextended into said smaller bore,

a head; adapted to close the outerendof said smaller bore" whereby a chamber willlbeder, finedrin-said smaller bore between said head and theinner end of said piston, said pis ton providing a second chamber interiorly thereof'in front of theclosed end of said cylindrical member, said cylindrical member having afoot portion closing the outer end of said enlarged bore, said piston skirt having a foot portion adaptedto define a chainber between said shoulder and saidzfoot .por tion and adapted to define another chamber between the foot, portion of said cylindrical maybe moved topermitpassage of a motive medium into said first named chamber while said motive medium is'opermitted to escape I to the atmosphere. from said fourth named chamber whereby aliquidmay be permitted to pass from said second'named chamber into said third named chambe saildrvpalveymemi p her being adapted to be movedto permit I said motive medium and saidliquidto move f ll the oppositedirectionswhereby S id 'PiSi i ton maybe movedor held against movement, In testimonywhereof I" affix-my signature.

, HOWARDacLA ro -a 1" 

